Ever since Red Sox general manager Ben Cherington pulled the trigger on a late July three-team deal that shipped shortstop Jose Iglesias to the Detroit Tigers and sent Chicago White Sox veteran starter Jake Peavy to the Boston Red Sox, there have been some questions.

The Red Sox haven't had a solid solution to fill the shortstop position since they dealt Nomar Garciapara in July of 2004. Iglesias was a home-grown talent. He was a defensive wizard, and, in 2013, he had shown an uncanny knack for getting on base. With infield hits, walks and bloop singles, Iglesias started the 2013 season as a player who wasn't expected to hit over .200. By the time he was traded he was hitting .330.

Yes, the Red Sox still had Stephen Drew, but Drew is only signed through the end of 2013. Xander Bogaerts was on the fast-track up the minor league system, but Red Sox fans are deservedly skeptical of unproven minor leaguers.

Peavy had a nice resume. But he wasn't the same pitcher that had won the National League Cy Young Award in 2007. He was injury-prone, makes over $14 million a year and is only signed through the end of the 2014 season.

Were the Red Sox really giving up on what appeared to be the first promising long-term solution to filling the crucial shortstop position in nearly a decade?

This was a trade that was made to improve the team in the short-term, but could have some significant negative long-term impact.

Fans of a franchise that had watched their team deal Curt Schilling and Brady Anderson for Mike Boddicker in 1988, and Jeff Bagwell for Larry Anderson in 1990, had legitimate reasons for skepticism.

Since his arrival in Boston, Peavy has been solid. He has had some memorable starts, most notably a Sunday night performance in Los Angeles in which he shut down the National League's best team en route to a blowout victory. Peavy went 4-1, his ERA of 4.04 neither dominant or disastrous.

Meanwhile, Jose Iglesias had been placed on a roster with championship expectations, and an unexpected hole at the shortstop position. Detroit's starting shortstop Jhonny Peralta had been suspended for 50 games as a result of his involvement in the Biogenesis PED scandal. The Tigers' starting shortstop job was his for the remainder of the regular season.

Iglesias wasn't able to replace Peralta's bat. He made up for that by bringing one of baseball's best gloves to the middle of the Tigers infield.

Red Sox fans would watch Peavy pitch every five nights. They'd watch the defensive wizardry of Jose Iglesias on highlight reels every night.

The deal had certainly helped the Red Sox, but the real test was always going to come in the postseason. After all, Peavy wasn't just acquired to win games in August and September. His October performance would be the most crucial barometer of whether or not dealing Iglesias was worth it.

When Jose Lobaton hit a walk-off home run to win Game 3 in dramatic fashion for the Tampa Bay Rays, he didn't just force a Game 4. He forced a referendum on the Jake Peavy-Jose Iglesias deal.

Simmons might have expressed the last questions Red Sox fans will have about Jake Peavy.

That's because, once the game started, the only question was "How on earth would the Rays find a way to score runs off this guy?"

The TBS announcers seemed fixated on Peavy's tendency to talk to himself on the mound. They might have wanted to try and decipher what Rays batters were muttering to themselves after their at-bats against Peavy.

Then again, what Rays batters were muttering might not have been safe to repeat on-air.

Peavy wasn't good, he was great. He was efficient, made the Rays swing early in the count and pitched to contact -- and the contact that was made was mostly weak.

There's no questioning his intensity. Peavy glares at home plate, his eyes are glassy, his body language is noticeable.

The Rays were able to scrap for one run in the sixth, and when Red Sox manager John Farrell emerged from the dugout to remove Peavy with one run in, and two outs, Peavy's desire to remain in the game did not require any lip reading.

Peavy's final stat line from Tuesday night was 5 2/3 innings pitched, five hits, one earned run, three strikeouts and no walks. He threw 74 pitches, 49 for strikes.

He left the game in position to be the tough-luck loser. In the end, he got a no-decision.

For those Red Sox fans still in doubt about whether or not the Peavy-for-Iglesias deal was a win or a loss for the team, Peavy's Game 4 performance was neither an loss or a no-decision.